"Wonder-Working Power" -2

"With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 136:12)

  The other message, whether it was God's way of making it happen, just so happen, it spoke a powerful word into my heart. The center of the message was Matthew 5:11-12, which in the KJV reads, "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you." This statement was given right after the series of eight other, "Blessed," things that Jesus listed, commonly referred to as the "Beatitudes." It is surprising to me, if you search for the word Beatitudes, the top of the list mentions "The eight beatitudes of Jesus," but there are nine, if you include the one quoted above. Immediately after this, Jesus spoke about that which I shared the other day, about salt that loses it flavor. It is pretty clear that there is something important that connects the attitude of the believer, in whatever situation they might find themselves, whether it is in sickness, in health, in poverty, or in riches; or whether they are being falsely persecuted, for righteousness sake, the attitude is to be one of being Blessed! The way I see it, there is nothing more important than the fact that we have been saved and given eternal life with Jesus in heaven; absolutely nothing! So, as far a blessings go, that one is the do-all of all end-alls! Nothing else matters compared to that! You can try and prove me wrong, but there is nothing you can say that will change my mind, it has already been settled! This is what Jesus did on the cross, with arms stretched out, He paid the price for my sins and made the way for me to have eternal life with Him! Sure, you could say that I have some things to complain about, but what are my futile complaints compared to what Jesus came and did for me? Nothing compares to the sacrifice that was made on the cross, for both Father and Son! This is why Isaiah writes, "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?" (Isaiah 53:1) Believe it or not, this is the most powerful thing that God has ever done! Even the making of the heavens falls short of the redemption that Jesus won for us; once you see that gift, you cannot turn back...

"But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Galatians 6:14)

"Wonder-Working Power"

"With a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 136:12)

  I am sorry if I caused anyone to weep a little bit, because my day was a little wrecked as well. Talk about well, that song which goes, "It is well with my soul," has been mysteriously swirling around inside my mind every since I finished yesterday's post. I could not put my finger on it till just now, but that is the summary of what I believe God wanted me to say, I just didn't have the strength to say it! I started that which I could not finish, because it is God who finishes every good work; we just need to ask Him, and it is done! No, that's not a, 'name it and claim it', statement, no way, no how; this is about us asking God to conform us to His will, by us simply letting Him do whatever it takes to get it done; and then, the song, "It is well," comes crashing in! To the point about whether or not Jesus did care about this life, there are several examples that He did: the most of which, is that He did not sweat blood for nothing; He did not say, after telling people to hate this life, "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour," for nothing: because it hurt Him to think about the hurt! Yesterday I was blessed to hear a couple of messages that made me realize something we easily overlook: It is God's power that changes us, not our own! I was reminded of the many times I practiced something that I might have not have correctly done. When someone would give their heart to the Lord, the practice was to take them aside and give them the instructions they now needed to keep themselves right: read your Bible, find a church that teaches out of the Bible, start a prayer life, share what God has done; all good things to do and put into practice, but they will not be the same as the miracle that happened when Christ came into your heart! When you opened that door, the world as you knew it charged in an instant: you were Born Again! Like a statue that is being created by an artist, God is the One who is chipping away all the things that do not look like His Son; the statue does nothing to make itself, it is God that does the work. Please don't read anything stupid into that; there is seriously too much of that happening right now, as it is! This is about deliverance, not works, because real works are not real unless they are based upon love! How do you tell the difference? Simple question deserves a simple answer: If you are doing it because you want to, verses doing it because you need to make yourself look good. If you are really do it out of love, it is something you want to do for love: as in, "For God so loved the world," even though it hurt. One of the messages I heard was about when Jesus told the disciple to throw their nets on the other side of the boat, and how easy it would have been for them to say, "Hey, your a carpenter, we know fishing!" Then the pastor went on to share 4 of 5 things that prevent us from dropping the net to the other side: Salvation, Sanctification, Service, Sacrifice; but I did not hear the 5th, so I needed to filled in that blank myself: Supernatural, as in trusting in His Wonder-Working Power...

"If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I had to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would gain nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:1-3) NLT

"With Purpose!"

"And brought out Israel from among them: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 136:11)

  Yes, your flesh too is an idol; just in case you needed to know how that all works out. Talk about "out", it would appear by the meaning of, "brought out," that this is something more than just an action, this has reason and purpose behind it, and reason and purpose ahead of it; in other words, it has direction, from beginning to end! I wish I could spend several days on this, but I am afraid many of you would get bored by some of the things that are just too elementary and what many consider to be old news. With that, however, I will go around and take a little shortcut; kind of like sneaking in through the back door, trying to unlock the front door from the inside out. (Again, no pun intended!) We that have been called and chosen for God's purposes are an odd and a peculiar people; to say the least! Peter uses the purpose for this, by saying, "that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of the darkness into his marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9b) This is by far the most exciting thing that we have to share, as far as the testimony of what we have been created for: to give God the glory for what He has done! You may not realize this yet, but once to you are in heaven, there will be no doubt what you were called to do: Praise God! I feel as though it might be harder than I thought to say this, but from my own personal experience, just like the children of Israel felt, I too lost some the experience of being called out of the darkness into His marvelous light. I really hate to admit it, but it is absolutely true. Call it adjustment or maybe even a little blending; but don't call it backsliding, because that is a slippery slope. Seriously, it is more about the newness wearing off then it is about the creeping back into something old; but then again, even an experience we have had can become an idol...

"For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn of many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, then he also glorified." (Romans 8:24-30)

"Once Smitten"

"To him that smote Egypt in their firstborn: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 136:10)

  Besides the fact that God loves us and is passionately for us, our trust in Him must go beyond what is made available in this life. That is a hard pill to swallow for many people, because they give way too much of the hope they have in the temporary life, while the eternal life we have in Christ is sitting on a shelf, stored up for some other life. Some Other Life! I know, it sounds like the title of a movie; maybe it would be a good movie for an atheist to write, based upon how Christians are no earthly good, and illustrate how they continually focus and look to Some Other Life. If only it were more prevalent in the lives of Christians; but as soon as they are offended, or as soon as they are facing something that is beyond their control, this life here in this place becomes very near and dear to their hearts. I really have no right to complain about what others do, because I am just as guilty as anyone else! If you seriously look for what motivates such behavior, it will be the Vanity of Vanities spoken of by Solomon. Have you ever wondered why the firstborn in Egypt were killed? What was the significance in the firstborn? Jesus spoke to this, saying, "Verily, verily, I say unto you. Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it: and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto eternal life." (John 12:24-25) Yes, it is a pretty serious subject; and no, Jesus was not just speaking about Himself dying on the cross. The firstborn represented the flesh; as much as we would like to hold onto it, it is what we are going to need, to have God's help in making it smitten. We are seriously not going to do it on our own, we simply care too much about it for that to happen. Don't think for a moment Jesus did not have any concern for His flesh, because He did! But this life compared to that of eternity, there is absolutely no comparison; which is basically what Jesus was saying about hating this life, because it falls incredibly short of the life yet to come. This is a heart thing, not a judgment thing! This is not Jesus saying that God will take your life away if you love this life; He is saying that you loving your life here we destroy your hope for heaven; literally and spiritually! "What good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again?" (Matthew 5:13 NLT) Believe it when I say, you really don't want to be that salt that gets used on ice covered roads...

"Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:5-11) NLT

"Stargazing"

"The moon and the stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 136:9)

  At the risk of being out of line, let me say how much I love our President and hate to see what is happening, over and over; they just won't give up until they either cause him to quit or get something to stick! This has got to be some kind of a lesson being taught, as in, if you are not part of the system, don't try to run for office. The whole problem with the system is that it is run and supported by people that are not your average citizen; they are career politicians that don't want anything but more power. That said, this is the catalyst for what God has put upon my heart this morning, more power. There is something the night sky does, besides give us something to gaze upon; it is filled with endless exploration and mystery. If and maybe, have no limits when it comes to something as vast and endless as outer space. Here is the thing that I believe God needs from us that call upon His name, that we would depend less upon what we see and more upon His Spirit! There is so much more to this than just that; but if you are looking for a sign of God's power and might, gazing up into the sky is not going to last beyond the night. As a matter of fact, (this might be where you make the kids leave the room,) there are different powers that rule by night; powers of wickedness and evil, that wait to creep around in the darkness and disrupt what happens in the light. I know, that is a whole lot of nonsense and boogyman stuff that our parents told us when we were kids. There is something Jesus said to His disciples, as He was planning to go and raise Lazarus from the dead, He said, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of the world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him." (John 11:9-10) If you really want to know what power looks like, this is the link to the what is the most important thing, the end of your life! In other words: You are here for as long as God says that you are here! When it's your time, it's your time; Jesus was telling His disciples that it was not yet His time; which, by the way has so much to do with Stargazing, to try and tell the future and predict future events. Weird, I know, but it all comes down to who it is that you trust, and whether or not your trust is in Him alone...

""I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike -the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus. And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don't know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus -the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God."" (Acts 20:21-24) NLT

"East Side Worship"

"The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:" (Psalms 136:8)

  As I was praying about this morning's post, I was prompted to ask a question, just in case there might be anyone asking too: What do the words, "for his mercy endureth for ever," actually stand for, and why are they relevant to each of these statements? First and foremost, we were created to worship; each and every single one of us are going to worship something, it's just a fact. This is the state of our human existence, that we live and we die, and between those two elements of our being, we reach out for something to grab hold of. Why do you think Jesus tried so hard to get His disciples to understand, that if they saw Him, then they have seen the Father? There is something we need to know when it comes to our relationship with Christ, that He is the Author and Finisher of our faith! Really, this is important stuff that we must hold to, not trying to discover any new revelations or seeking signs or wonders, or any other thing that might stimulate or satisfy our ability to be or do anything; because everything else is just smoke and mirrors compared to Jesus Christ and the message of the cross. There are tons of churches that offer a complete selection of activities and programs to get people involved in their particular ministry, whatever ministry that might be; but if the focus of that ministry is not the teaching of the Word, then there is no foundation to that church. Sorry if you don't like what I just said, because it really seems to be something that has been forgotten in many different churches. The only thing that is stable and never changing, is the Word of God; at least that is the Truth! But, there are churches and different cults that will change the Word to suit their own particular ministry or belief. I would call your attention to Revelation 22:18-19, if you are wanting some information about what God thinks of changing His Word! Besides all of that, there are many religions that are actually centered on the worship of the sun. To some, the sun is their god; and they practice worshiping the rising of it, each and every day. I think that I will agree with Solomon on this topic, and we will just leave it at that...

"The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all of his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he rose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the river come, thither they return again. All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:1-9)

"By Illumination"

"To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 136:7)

  I hope you received that message about God's power and wisdom, because that is the point that was being made: God knows what it is that we need, even before we need it, on every scale, from the basic need of you and I, to the expansive need of the entire universe. Basically, that means that we have absolutely nothing to worry about, including the changing climate! It is a complete tragedy how our kids are being used to push a very radical agenda. Those that are behind this new movement are causing panic and complete emotional hysteria in some children, making them seemingly hate their parents generation. Another thing about that post on yesterday, that the age of the earth can actually be an idol; if it is something that comes between us and the True God! The God of the Bible does not need for the earth to wait for Him to do this or that; He can simply say the word, and whatever it is that He wants to be done, is not only done, but it is made in the fashion it is meant to be made in. If you study the days of creation, each and every part of creation was completed being what it was meant to be on that particular day. Particularly, on the first day, in which God said, "Let there be light: and there was light." I think we forget sometimes that light and darkness are two separate things, because God also saw that the light was good, and then He divided the light from the darkness! You can think of that meaning a whole host of different things, most of which might involve the earth and the sun; but there is something Jesus said about light and darkness that makes it a little more personal; so much so, that it keeps people from wanting to get right with God. Excuse me for a moment, while I step out on another limb. The way I see it, the tree that was in the midst of the garden was something that closely resembled the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses; both of them illuminated God's command, and in the process, also illuminated the darkness within man's heart. When sin is carried out, it produces death; maybe not a physical death, but a spiritual death, a disconnect between the relationship between the man or woman and their Creator. Does that then somehow make the tree and the Ten Commandments out to be idols? I guess it depends on the separation between the light and darkness in a persons heart. If they want to keep the sin hidden, then yes, whatever it was the drove them to sin is the idol; at least it is in their heart, as long as it keeps them from God. There is something that we must never forget, EVER! Our God's mercy endures for ever! It does not matter what you have done, He wants you to be made right; step out of the darkness and into the Light, and be made right; that's what He wants from you...

""God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God's one and only Son. And the judgment is based upon this fact: God's light came into the world, but people love the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants."" (John 3:17-21) NLT

"It's a Stretch"

"To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 136:6)

  You must know me by now; if it falls on verse 6, I am always ready to make man the issue or the focus; this is what I do, so pardon my expression. I had a conversation with someone a week or so ago about creation. This was a person that was sharing the Lord to kids that were incarcerated in Juvenal Hall, so I figured I was safe to speak about the Bible without getting into a big debate. I started to share about the six days of creation, as to whether they were six actual days or six thousand years, or what. I must have given him a clue that I was for the six actual day belief, because, man did I get put in my place! He went on and on about how science has proved that the earth is billions of years old, and how that it was impossible for the earth to be only thousands of years old; implying that, if we believe such non-sense we are only turning people away from believing in the Bible at all; especially the younger kids that are raised believing in the theory of evolution. Stranger things have happened, but it makes me wonder what kind of God is evident in my brother's heart. Why couldn't God create something that is mature and old; if He can make something from nothing, why would He make it to evolve into something else? I think I have a theory, if you don't mind me taking a swipe at this? It is a lot like our salvation, where it is all God's doing, but man must feel as though they have contributed to it, somehow or someway; even though it is man's deliberate sinful nature that has forced God to make the ultimate sacrifice, so that man's doing does not actually count! In other words; the earth has got to be part of the process of creation! Call me stupid, I really don't care. But if God made a ball and it had to make itself into an earth, then where does that put you and me in the New Creature evolutionary process? The process starts with justification; something that is impossible have or to become on our own! Then God takes us through the sanctification process; which is pretty much Him being merciful upon on us, day in and day out, until we make through to the glorification stage, the end of our earthly life...

"Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretched forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; that frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; that confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: that saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up the rivers: that saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid." (Isaiah 44:24-28)

"The Only Wise God"

"To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 136:5)

  So, if God made the heaven for us, how vastly do we get to explore them; if that is even allowed? I mean if God stopped them from building the tower of Babel, why doesn't He stop the exploration of space? The more they speak about other life forms, the more closely I believe that we are getting to the time when Jesus comes back for His church. I don't know why, but it just seems that there needs to be some sort of reason that God allows us to explore all of these things that may or may not have anything to do with any other life forms; or is it just entertainment for Him to watch and see how far man will take their imagination? Whether you believe it or not, but God does have a sense of humor. Matthew Henry says, "He made the heavens, and stretched them out, and in them we not only see his wisdom and power, but we taste his mercy in their benign influence; as long as the heavens endure the mercy of God endures in them." It is an amazing and awesome thing to scan the heavens for the experience of seeing just how small this little blue dot is, in comparison to the vastness of space. If you think reality of that isn't enough to make even the wisest man quiver and shake; imagine what it might be like to be out there looking back at earth; or towards earth, because once you are out far enough, you can't even see it. For some, space is not only vast and unfathomable, it is also an idol; something that is not only bowed down to, but it is worshiped and there are imaginary creatures that are given credit for being the origin of life. This might not seem like such a big deal, not for those of us that know the truth and believe the Bible; but for those that control the governments and establish the rule of laws, this can get really serious and mysterious. The whole climate change scare, whether do buy it or not, it takes on a whole new dimension when you involve other life forms. Personally, I see it as just another adjustment in the earth's atmosphere; which by the way, God, by His wisdom has made and controls...

""The LORD formed me from the beginning, before he created anything else. I was appointed in ages past, at the very first, before the earth began. I was born before the oceans were created, before the springs bubbled forth their waters. before the mountains were formed, before the hills, I was born -before he made the earth and fields and first handfuls of soil. I was there when he established the heavens, when he drew the horizon on the oceans. I was there when he set the clouds above, when he established springs deep in the earth. I was there when he set the limits of the seas, so they would not spread beyond their boundaries. And when he marked off the earth's foundations, I was the architect at his side. I was his constant delight, rejoicing always in his presence. And how happy I was with the world he created; how I rejoiced with the human family!"" (Proverbs 8:22-31) NLT

"God Alone"

"To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 136:4)

  I came to the conclusion this morning that this is a one day at a time experience; because I know what I have heard, but there is only one verse I must address at a time. As I was reading this verse, I was reminded about a powerful king named Nebuchadnezzar, the king that thought he made his kingdom and all the wondrous things that were around him. It is very easy to get caught up in the world system, that which is the system that draws us into its power, thinking that we have some sort of power to control the world around us. Being in sales, I have seen first hand how motivational speakers try to make us think that we are the ones that control our own destinies. What a trap it is to be caught up in that line of thinking, because it is God alone that controls every single living thing! It took me some time to figure that out. I wish that it had happened much sooner and without such pain and suffering. To the point of great wonders, they are things that otherwise are considered hard or great; much like setting records or achieving things that are extraordinary, doing things that amaze. Funning thing about that word, amaze, because it also speaks to bewilderment; and like a maze, we get lost in the explanation of the accomplishment. It is kind of like the, 'Tower of Babel,' which God disrupted and needed to change the people's direction; talk about being lost in translation, no one could finish their conversations, let alone build a tower to heaven. When we read about the "Mystery Babylon" in Revelations 17 & 18, it is both a place and a system; the system is that which convinces that world of separated power, apart from God, apart from any higher authority, and able to great wonders on their own, without God's help or interference. Verse two of chapter seventeen says, "With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication." This fornication is not of a sexual manner, but that of idol worship, as in, the worship of the worldly system that she has set up; a system that not only crosses the line of committing abominations against God, but going against God and trying to over through His power over the earth. You don't think that sounds crazy? That is what power does to people, they can get really carried away with themselves, thinking that they have power, when the source of all the power is from God...

"Look here, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit." How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like a morning fog -it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, "If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that." Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and such boasting is evil. Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it." (James 4:13-17) NLT

"The Lord of all lords!"

"O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 136:3)

  For the moment, this is the third verse that speaks about how God is good in Himself; in other words, we need to worship and adore Him for the simple fact that He is God, the Lord our God! Be it whatever else you want to think, whether you are in the valley or high on the mountain top, God is the one that has ultimate control over everything, and He is great and good! That means that we don't need to worry about anything, as long as He is the Lord of our life: If God be for us, who can be against us! That is the actual meaning of "Lord" in this verse, that He is Master and we are His servants. All this talk about who has it better than someone else, whether it is about white verses black, or rich verses poor; if you are a servant of the Lord, you are better off than anyone that is not His servant, no matter what class or race of people you belong to. If you get right down to it, our home is in heaven, where the Lord has prepared a place for us, for eternity; this life, no matter what it might be, is but for a brief moment; compared to eternity, it is not even a speck or blip on a radar screen. The real question we need to ask ourselves, is whether or not we believe it? Well, do you? If the Bible is true, and the words that are written within it are true, then you had better believe it is so! There is just no other way to compare what is true or false, without first becoming His servant. But once you have been added to the household of the Lord, words cannot express the reality of how it feels to have peace, to be able to rejoice, and to know that you are loved...

"Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses. And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, that you obey this commend without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of kings, and Lord of all lords. He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen." (1 Timothy 6:12-16) NLT

"Above All Else"

"O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Psalms 136:2)

  Okay, so as to not step out on a limb, let me start by saying that God's word is not meant to be normalized! I have been told not to spiritualize the text, as if the word of God just means what it says and says what it means; to a certain extent, I believe that to be true. But this is more about the Word of God being alive and able to minister into that which God has intended it to do, far beyond the printed word that we see on the page. I believe that His Word was written by men that were spoken to by His Spirit; without a doubt, each and every single word, each and every process, and each and every reproduction of the Text, was put together and made available by the Holy Spirit working in and through each and everyone involved in the thousands of years it took to make it what we see and read today. You can choose to believe what you want, but I am convinced that God is the Author! That said, what I believe we are going to experience within the context of this chapter, is something that speaks to all the false gods that are placed between God and His children. As I said yesterday, this is, I believe, a continuation of the previous chapter; they go together, because they are meant to be exactly the way they are in the Book. And, whether or not it was Ezra that wrote this, or any other, it is the Word of God! To get right down to it, this is probably the most important thing that we need to know and cherish within our hearts: God is our Judge, and it is He that wants to have mercy upon us, the One who will untimely judge us; no other god can come close to that, because no other god is the One True God! So what pray tell do we do with that little bit of information: We Give Thanks...

""The LORD, the Mighty One, is God! The LORD, the Mighty One, is God! He knows the truth, and may Israel know it too! We have not built the altar in treacherous rebellion against the LORD. If we have done so, do not spare our lives this day. If we have built an altar for ourselves to turn away from the LORD or to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings, may the LORD himself punish us."" (Joshua 22:22-23) NLT

"His Mercy Endures Forever"

PSALMS 136
"O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever." (Verse One)

 As if this Psalm could be placed in any better place, the point of the last Psalm carries over to God's mercy; mercy, because mercy is what we need, over and over again! Many of us have practiced reading this in a church, where the Pastor reads the beginning of each verse, and the congregation finishes, all 26 times: "for his mercy endureth for ever." In the process of repeating these, we are reminded how much we need his mercy, no matter what our position is in this life, we are all in the same need of God's mercy! This was one of those simple lessons that I learned when I first got saved, that I was blessed to have been found guilty and sentenced for a crime, because I had no excuse to say that I was a good person, not from behind bars. It was pretty obvious that my life was messed up and I needed some mercy! That said, the thing I discovered during the class settings with the officers and church groups, is that they were no better off than me; except for the bars, they were just as much a sinner as me. Come to find out, they were also in a harder place to ask for mercy, because many did not feel that they needed it or that their life warranted the plea: 'God have mercy upon me!' I found it easy to tell the difference between those that came to minister to some brothers, and those that came to try and save some convicts. I hoped that they realized that it is God that saves, because they might have needed some too! Anywho; that is the obvious title above this Psalm in my Bible, in case you were wondering. What does that mean for you? Does it mean that He has mercy for ever? Or does it mean that His mercy is unending? I am pretty sure that it is both! At least that is my experience over the last 38 years; 62 years, if you count the time when I was in my mother's womb! My mom was only 16 years old when I was born, so I was blessed to have been born. What, you don't think they had abortions in 1958? They most certainly did; mostly back-alley and with a coat-hanger. The word "good" is one that speaks about God's goodness, fairness, and kindness. I heard a message the other day about what it must have been for the Father to standby while His Son was being tortured, spat upon, ridiculed, and hung on the cross; what kind of restraint He must have had, and how it must have broken His heart to watch it happen. We can never doubt whether or not God loves us; not after we have considered what a sacrifice He made and how brutal it was for Him to witness; and all for us! He did what He needed to do, in order that we might obtain mercy...

"Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." (Jude 1:21-25)

"The True God!"

"Blessed be the LORD out of Zion, which dwelleth at Jerusalem. Praise ye the LORD." (Psalms 135:21)

  To get right to the point: If you know the life changing power of Jesus' blood, that cleansing power, that washes away every sin, then you absolutely know the True God! There is no denying what He has done for you, and there is no going back to what you were before; at least not without remorse! Every single day is a new day in the life of a believer; no matter what condition your life is currently living in; if you belong to Christ, you are one second away from restoration and total cleansing. I would like you to show me any idol that can accomplish that! This is the God we serve, who knows full well every single thing we have ever done, that we are currently doing, and what we will be doing tomorrow. There is just absolutely nothing we can do that can outside the knowledge of what He already knows; and yet, He still loves you and wants you to be made free from everything that takes you from fellowship with Him. You do know that Zion and Jerusalem are the same place, right? Just as you and I are the same person, no matter the trial, the fall, or even by death; we are only changed by the power of God, who lives in us and through us! This new creature that has been created, is made new by God; and this new creature is kept new, by that same True God! Why is it that we can even think about putting an idol between us and the True God? Our idols are the link between us and the flesh; that same flesh that was crucified with Christ and that has been reckoned as dead, it is given life by those things that are placed between us and God. These don't even need to be something that looks like the sin we hold onto; it might even be an empty space, something that takes away from the thing that we know God wants from us or wants us to do. Call it a distraction, if that better suits you; but in reality, it is that which we must do that matters the most: Trust God to have every last part of you...

"In that day you will sing: "I will praise you, O LORD! You were angry with me, but not any more. Now you comfort me. See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The LORD GOD is my strength and my song; he has given me victory." With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation! In that wonderful day you will sing: "Thank you LORD! Praise his name! Tell the nations what he has done. Let then know how mighty he is! Sing to the LORD, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. Let all the people of Jerusalem shout his praise with joy! For great is the Holy One of Israel who lives among you."" (Isaiah 12) NLT

"The Must Trust"

"Bless the LORD, O house of Israel: bless the LORD, O house of Aaron: bless the LORD, O house of Levi: ye that fear the LORD, bless the LORD." (Psalms 135:19-20)

  Just so you know, I tend to step out on limbs quite often; let's just blame it on my B.C. days and all the wild crazy things I did; we can just leave it at that, because I hardly remember any of it being very constructive. Which brings me to the point of what this Scripture has placed upon my heart. We that fear the LORD are fearfully and wonderfully made in His image! God said it back in the beginning, saying, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." (Genesis 1:26) This word for "bless" is one that is like adoration and congratulation; to knee down and give praise for the perfect work that has been done! Whatever it was that I have done or been through, I wouldn't want to change a single thing! There are things that I regret, things that I even hate thinking about doing; but to undo anything, besides the fact that it is impossible, it would disrupt something that God has done. Each of those names listed above are the names that God has blessed: Israel the nation; Aaron the priest; Levi the loyal servants: all put into their perfect and rightfully made positions by none other than the Creator of heaven and earth; who knows every single hair of their heads! Weird as this might sound, but I woke up this morning dreaming about having a mouth full of hair. Stranger things have happened, but I might have actually had some of my wife's hair in my mouth, because her head was right up against my face. Anywho, this makes perfect sense: fear is not only totally accurately needed as part of our worship, it is the engine that keeps us trusting God. The thing about must engines, at least the ones we know mostly about, the ones in our cars; they constantly need fuel or a source of power to run: as does fear! If you don't believe me, try to imagine any kind of fear that does not have knowledge attached to it. They say that fear stands for, False Evidence Appearing Real; which works really well when that fear is with anything else but God; but as far as God is concerned, the fear we have with Him is based upon what we know. We know that He knows all things, that He created all things, that He more powerful than anything, and that He loves us more than anything we could ever know. That is what the Bless is all about! No idol can ever even come close to a single part of that...

"And the four a twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." (Revelation 19:4-8)

"Representation"

"They that make them are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them." (Psalms 135:18)

  I have got to say, I have been waiting for this morning with great anticipation! Enough with the 'Tion' words; right? The 'Tioning' is over, because after this, there is such great cause for celebration! Ok, maybe I spoke too soon. This is something that we must all take into serious consideration: God will not be mocked; when He says, "You shall have no other gods before me," it is not a suggestion! I which I didn't have to say it, but it's not even a recommendation! It is a commandment; a basic rule that must be followed, if you want to live! I don't know how you might react to this, because it might be me just going out on a limb; but I think that Adam and Eve worshipped an idol before they actually fell. The Bible does not say whether or not Eve added, "neither shall ye touch it," to her statement about eating of the Tree, or if it was something that Adam said to her; but either way, the thing that was forbidden was something that became an idol; at least it was to Eve. What was she doing at the Tree? And why was Adam there with her? Was it some form of worship? I just saying; there is something about this, as well as the curses that were handed down, that make it all too familiar to the verse we are looking at this morning. The thing that God commended them not to eat from, it became something sacred and more than just forbidden; it became a god! Maybe we need to backup just a bit and explore what that actually means. If you have anything, anything means everything, that you put any kind of trust in, more than you trust in God, then you have in fact made that something of a god to you. The point of that is quite simple: Eve's desire to eat, was based upon the trust she had in the fruit to give her more than God was offering. In layman's terms, she trusted the fruit more than God! What is it that makes her out to be? A Fool! We just read several verses that described what idols are and what they cannot do; which pretty much means that it is absolutely foolish to worship them, let alone but any kind of trust in them; so that would make them foolish, and anyone that puts there trust in them, out to be a fool...

"He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, "Ah, that fire feels good." Then he takes what's left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. "Rescue me!" he says. "You are my god!" Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think. The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, "Why, it's just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?" The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can't help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, "Is this idol that I'm holding in my hand a lie?"" (Isaiah 44:16-20) NLT

"Life's Preposition"

"They have ears, but the hear not; neither is there any breath in their mouths." (Psalms 135:17)

  When it comes to God's word, not only is it important to listen, but we need to hear what is being said when He speaks. Back in the day, I was really into heavy metal and music that I felt really spoke to me; not only would I listen to the music, but I would pay attention to what was being said, as if to hear some sort of a message, something that could inspire me and get my mind churning in areas that I thought were interesting to explore. I know that is a pretty lousy example, specially based upon the music and the culture behind it; but that is pretty much the same line of thinking, where we not only listen, but we hear what is being said and we make it part of our life. God's word is meant to be life changing! If His word is not changing you for the better, then you had better learn to listen better; and the better way to listen, is to hear with ears that hear what it is that God is saying! I know, we are meant to be talking about idols; apparently I did not get the memo. But seriously, this is actually more about God, the True God verses idols; which, whether you are willing to accept it or not, is the power behind the title above: Real life has real words, with real important meanings! Yes, the Bible is given wonderful names, like, "God's Love Letter," or "His-Story," or whatever else you wish to make it; but the bottom line, it is His Word, living and breathing, and speaking into the lives of those that will hear what His Spirit is saying. Which brings me to the second part of this verse, "breath." I couldn't help but think about what Pastor Bryan shared, and the way the Hebrew language pronounces "breath," as in the word from Genesis 2:7, which says, "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Never mind the fact that idols don't have breath in their mouths; they don't have anything close to the Spirit of the Living God! Something Jesus was making very clear to Nicodemus, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." To be perfectly clear, the "water" that Jesus is speaking about is the Word of God, the True God, the Living God; The Spirit and Truth of God, the Fountain of Life...

"Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."" (John 4:10-14)

"Given Attention"

"They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;" (Psalms 135:16)

  After debating over this few several minutes, I was prompted to stick with splitting this up into two different topics; mostly because of the unique characters of seeing and hearing, and how we are moved by either one. This person that wrote this Psalm, whomever it was, was surely prompted and led by the Spirit of God while doing so. We cannot deny that God speaks to us, it is as plain as day, anytime that He does. As a matter of fact, it is His voice I want to hear and listen to, each and every day, all day long! And do you know why that is? Because He sees my every move and He can see my every thought; but more than that, He sees what comes next! It is based upon these, very important truths, the voice of God is extremely important to listen to; whether you are just a nobody, or a very important somebody, because each and everyone of us can have the same affect upon this world. I know, you wondering how I came up with that conclusion; but it is absolutely true. It really does not matter who you are, as long as there is life within you, you are a vessel that can be used by God; and when God uses you to do something, if He so desires, it could change the world. A nobody could share something with a somebody, and the wheels are set in motion; that is how it always works, we just don't always get to see how that is going to happen. But guess what! God sees it, because He is the one that speaks it into existence! James makes this point, saying, "For that ye aught to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that." (James 4:15) The basic thought in that, is that we do not control what happens from day to day, God does! We might think we have some sort of power over our lives, to plan and build and make things happen; but unless it is God's will for us, it is just as much a vapor as our very life. Have you ever tried to grab ahold of a vapor? What happens when you do, is that it moves away. I heard part of a message yesterday that really convicted me. It was about fasting, something I really have not done in quite a while. The point of which, was that fasting is a very important practice to train ourselves to deny our flesh and to pray. Two points were given: The first of which, is that Jesus did not say, 'If you fast,' but said, "When you fast;" and that second was that of the disciples encounter with a possessed child that they could not help, and Jesus said, "This kind can come forth by nothing, but prayer and fasting." (Mark 9:29) Ultimately, we must stay attentive to God's word; it must be at the forefront of our minds and written upon our hearts! God speaks, and we need to listen, because we don't get to see what God can see, so He is our eyes in all situations...

""My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. "The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it."" (Isaiah 55:8-11) NLT

"Man's Transaction"

"The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands." (Psalms 135:15)

  If you could, what would be the idol that you would bring to life? John ended his first epistle with this very stern warning, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen." Just before that, John said, "This is the true God, and eternal life." If you really stop and think about it, are love for God is a response to His love for us; so, on what basis do we justify our love to an idol? The word 'heathen' used here, is basically talking about Nations; which pretty much means a collective, or a mass, as apposed to an individual person. This is by far the most important difference between Christianity and other worldly religions: a personal relationship with God! The other religions of the world base their connection with God in reference to other people, or based upon the teachings of someone else, other than to true and living God. We that calls ourselves Christians, we base our faith upon the relationship that we have with Jesus Christ, God's Son! This is not only a game changer, this is the very essence of hope, hope that can actually deliver and act upon a promise; as if idols could even make a promise that actually means anything important! Most importantly, idols are anything that we have placed between us and God. To put that into a spiritual perspective: There is a God, the One in whom we are accountable to and that is our Judge; if there is anything between me and that God, the everything I want that to be is Christ Jesus, the One who sits at the right hand of the Father. Nothing else will do! The title above speaks about an exchange, which is very similar to the exchange that took place in the very beginning, that would be the exchange made in the Garden of Eden. This was that exchange of trading the personal relationship with God for that of the earth, or if you will, that which is tangible and temporary. It might be hard to see that connection, but Adam's curse defines the result. That is pretty much John's point, that we should never put anything that is temporary between us and the Eternal God...

"We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts." (1 John 5:19-21) NLT

"God's Compassion"

"For the LORD will judge his people, and he will repent himself concerning his servants." (Psalms 135:14)

  Of all the chances for this, we have got to believe that God knows exactly what He is doing! Where to start; how about let's start with the beginning? "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." We all should know and understand the meaning and the power behind that statement; simply put, it is that basic understanding that God created everything from nothing, because He is God! But, do you realize something else that might be hard for some to fathom; that God knew before He even started His creation, that He would be sending His Son to die on our behalf. I know, it's hard to imagine that God would carry out making something that would require such a sacrifice; but there is a very similar scenario, on a much smaller scale, in the way God gave Abraham the glimpse of his descendants in Egypt, and how Abraham felt compassion for all that they would go through. If you don't know by now, that compassion was based in love! Yes, that's right: God knew full well all that man would be going through, but He had a very determined plan for man's future! (Jeremiah 29:11) It was His plan all alone, because He loves His children, which includes you and me. The word, "repent," is the same word from Genesis 6:6, that says, "And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." Why go through with it at all, if it was going to cause so much pain? They say that this up-coming generation of people are not all that interesting in raising children; based upon the conditions and the threat of climate change, or whatever else might be going on in the world, they just don't feel that interested in bringing children into a world that is just going to harm them. What a waste of love! What a waste of opportunities to love! Pretty much, that word repent, actually means, to have compassion; based upon the word, 'compare'!  I know, it hurts too much to think about, but that is life; we always which it could have been different, that there could have been another way; saying, Why did it have to be this way? Why couldn't it be more like this or that? I am 100% sure that the when it comes to God, the word repent, does not refer to the word regret...

"And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." (Luke 22:41-44)

"Commemoration"

"Thy name, O LORD, endureth for ever; and the memorial, O LORD, throughout all generations." (Psalms 135:13)

  I might be stepping out on a limb, but it would not be surprised if this Psalm was written Ezra himself; because as you know, I believe that Ezra was the one responsible for assembling these Songs together. It would only be natural, as a man of God, he might make up his own song in the process of reading and sorting them; analyzing them and figuring out the order that gives the most impact upon the human heart. But don't quote me, because I seriously know nothing about anything of importance. That said, when it comes to, "The True God and Idols," there is absolutely no comparison between the two! I can say without a speck of doubt, God's power and might is stronger than anything or anyone else! I have tried the worship of other things, and I can say without a doubt that nothing can take the place of the work that God has done in my heart and in my life. Oh, I might have days or weeks of feeling like I can express myself and explore a little of that old nature; but when push comes to shove, none of that matters anymore when it's time to get serious and worship God alone! To get right down to it, this is about us remembering how God never changes! We can change in an instant; triggered by just about anything that might not conform to our way of seeing things; whether that be what's our stuff, our feelings, our relationships, and even our own sinful natures. It really does not matter what it is, if we do not agree with the outcome or the process, the wickedness within our heart will yearn for the way to get our own way. Matthew Henry says that this is a reference to Ex. 3:15, as God proclaimed, "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; this is my name for ever and this is my memorial unto all generations." Do you know exactly what Jesus said of this? It pretty much sums up what I was saying about the no comparison thing! Yes, that right; nothing proves God lives more than life itself...

"Jesus replied, "Marriage is for people here on earth. But in the age to come, those worthy of being raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection. "But now, as to whether the dead will be raised -even Moses proved this when he wrote about the burning bush. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, he referred to the Lord as 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' So he is the God of the living, not the dead, for they all live with him."" (Luke 20:34-38) NLT

"Possession"

"And gave their land for a heritage, a heritage unto Israel his people." (Psalms 135:12)

  Not to get weird or anything, but don't you like the fact that this particular verses is numbered "12"? Anywho; about those subjects: mighty kings and rulers, of whatever kingdom or land, they are all subjects of God, whether they like it or not. Just like those people calling out for mother earth to protect them; that is no different than Adam and Eve trying to cover themselves and hide from God in the garden. And what makes matters worse, is that God wanted them to confess and come clean: just confess that you are guilty and ask Him for mercy, that is what He wants! He already knows all the things we do, so hiding from Him is not only the stupid thing to do, it is like Bad News; which is the total opposite of Good News, as in the News that gives people life! Stop and think about it, or as God might say, "Come now, let us reason together." Each and every single one, whether Jew or Gentile, are all God's possessions; that's right, He owns everyone and everything! It's all His, and He can do whatever He wants to do with that which is His. The really amazingly Good News, is that He wants everything to be very very good; all that He made was good, and He said so; all with the exception of one single thing; okay, two things, if you get right down to it. The first thing that did not get, a good, was created on the Second Day; the First Day, God created the light and the darkness and divided the two, but the Second Day was different, because there was space made between them, called "the firmament," otherwise called, "Heaven." If you really want to get technical, the earth and sky that Paul was talking about is pretty much the idea that is being given. Which, by the way is what lets each and every single one of us know in our hearts that God does exist, but that we cannot reach Him! For thousands of years people have tried to reach the heavens; not until just the last sixty year period has anyone been able to make it into the firmament, that space between us and God. When you look up that word, it says that the Hebrews believed that there was a heavily ocean. Ok then; so the second thing, God was more specific about, saying, "It is not good that the man should be alone." Do you realize what Jesus did with His coming; He took care of both of those issues, and now it is all about us coming out of the bushes and letting Him make us worthy of Heaven, and filling us with His Spirit. It is so nice to have a God that loves us, so very very much...

"For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus." (Romans 3:23-26) NLT

"Dissemination"

"Who smote great nations, and slew mighty kings; Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan:" (Psalms 135:10-11)

  If you have been following this blog for any length of time, then you probably know by now that I can somethings have a little 'off the reservation' moments; to say the least. As much as I would like to blame it on my lack of sleep, I tend to think it is more about my confused understanding of what God is doing right now. If there is anyone that might have a clue, your input would be greatly appreciated. The message of these two verses, however, is nothing short of pure excellence; leaving nothing there to wonder why or second guess God's plan and motivation. Mostly because the very next verse gives us that reason, but that is another subject; no pun intended. The word given to me this morning, that which is the title above, means the action or fact of spreading something, especially information, widely. Not sure how that might relate, but I am pretty sure it might have something to do with the respect to the God of Israel while all of this was going on. Don't you think that could be the case? To take another look at, "The True God and Idols," which is the title over this Psalm in my Bible, this is pretty much the exact point that was being made throughout the land of Canaan: The God of Israel is the True God! It really is no secret that people know that God is real; they might not want to be told what to do and how to live their lives based upon His commands, but they still know that He is! What they end up doing is to replace His image with that of something else; call it, masking over, if that is even possible to do. Paul takes it even further, as he says that God gives them over to their sinful desires, because they have worshipped the creature instead of the Creator. (Romans 1:18-32) There is a really good example of what this looks like in Revelations 6:13-17, as the kings of the earth and all other people hid them selves, calling out for mother earth to hide them, "from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Hope you got that! They continued to worship the creation over the Creator, even though the Creator was the one that they were trying to hide from! Talk about being confused, that is just sheer stupidity...

"For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes -the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life." But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities -his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God." (Romans 1:16-20) NLT

"By Implication" -To

"Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants." (Psalms 135:9)

  To get right down to it, God has given us everything that we need to make this work; it is our choice as to whether or not we will allow it to happen. No matter what you might think of the way God gets our attention, what He does, He always does in love, even if it might hurt a little in the process. This is a pretty good time to remind us that we must learn how to actually give up and give in! How often have we struggled to get this right, and utterly failed to make it happen? You cannot save someone that is drowning until they quit trying to save themselves; they must just relax and surrender, trusting that the lifeguard knows what he is doing. There is really no other way to say this, but, "Let go, and let God!" Paul makes this point very clear, whether we are struggling with something or we are not, in all things, whether we feel weak or strong, we must be a son or daughter of the KING! This takes us beyond the point of servant, and it takes us into the privilege of being heir; which means that there is no more trying to do what is right, but actually being right, because He has made us right! (Galatians 4:1-7) This is our inheritance, to walk in the fulness thereof, and to be all that God has purposed us to be! This was the point of the closing Scripture, where it is up to us to shout out, "Wake up, wake up, O LORD!" It is not us asking God to do anything else but changing us; that we are giving in to His mighty power and His will for our lives, because we know it is His power that must change us. We are not going to do this on our own, in our strength, and in our understanding. I have heard this said, almost all of my life: "God is not going to ask you to do something that you cannot do." I need someone to show me where that Scripture is, because I cannot find it! The closest thing I can find, is when God is telling Moses to go and deliver His people; I am pretty sure that Moses did not and could not do that on his own; besides that, "Who," is speaking about God, not Moses. No, I am pretty sure that God will and does ask us to do things we cannot do, because He wants us to trust Him to do them through us and in us. Like empty jars waiting to be filled; less of me and more of You, O LORD...

"Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ's death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After staring your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ." (Galatians 3:1-5) NLT

"By Implication"

"Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants." (Psalms 135:9)

  What is it that we are talking about here? Quite frankly, it is about the power of God to not only change someone, but to persuade them to be changed, whether they like it or not. If you know the history of what had happened, the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, over and over, until it was so hard, that the slug-hammer of God could finally break it; and break it He did. Was it the death of the first born that broke it? Nope! Maybe at first it could have been; but after the morning had past, he hardened even more, enough to really think that he could take on the God of Israel. Man, O man, was he in for a grave surprise! To get right down to it, this is about something all together different than it might seem. We look at this thinking it is just about Egypt, when, if we look at it in a spiritual sense, this is about God deliverance of His children from the grip of the world; the powers that be, those of the devil and his companions that will not stop until they do all that they can to destroy God's children. When you look at the message, Egypt is a representation of the world; Israel is representing you and me, whom God has delivered from the bondage of this fallen world. But this world has a ruler, although temporary as he might be, he is the ruler, in limited capacity. Which is easy to see, in the story told here, by how the ruler represented in Pharaoh, was very limited in what he could actually do against God's children. The time it took for God to deliver His children from the grip of this world was very short, compared to the time it took to get His children's grip off the world. Isn't that how it is? We only hold onto the sins that we still like; those things that still give us pleasure thinking about, plotting and planing ways to get away with them. There is no shortage of help in that regard; because even though the devil cannot read your mind, he can still read your actions. It just so happens, "servants," imply those that worship, meaning those that serve because they call themselves servants, by not only their actions, but by their loyalty to whomever they serve. Idols are anything that we raise up, worship, or otherwise serve, other than God! Seems like an implication; which, if you define what that means, it can mean a likely consequence of something, or better yet, the action or state of being involved in something. I think it is best to be involved in being delivered; as in, what is it I need to do to assist my Lord; to be totally loyal to Him...

""Listen to me, you who know right from wrong, you who cherish my law in your hearts. Do not be afraid of people's scorn, nor fear their insults. For the moth will devour them as it devours clothing. The worm will eat at them as it eats wool. But my righteousness will last forever. My salvation will continue from generation to generation." Wake up, wake up, O LORD! Clothe yourself with strength! Flex your mighty right arm! Rouse yourself as in the days of old when you slew Egypt, the dragon of the Nile." (Isaiah 51:7-9) NLT

"Physical Correction"

"Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast." (Psalms 135:8)

  To make myself clear, the Holy Spirit is key to the physical side of the heart; making way for the Spiritual rebirth that must take place in the very center of our being. That is pretty much the heart of the matter; so, if that is how you want to look at it, then the Holy Spirit is the first on the scene when there is going to be a transformation within us. That said, Jesus knocks upon the door of our heart, and it is a audible knock! This is not anything like any other experience we can have; no other god can do what the LORD our GOD can do; He makes all things new! Our stoney heart is change, just like that; and there is nothing we can do about it: we cannot undo a new birth; not a real rebirth, that is for sure! I know, you are probably thinking I am trying to say, 'Once saved, always saved,' which is literally taken way out of context, literally! I am of the belief that we cannot undo what God has done; but we can undo what we have done. John says it best, in 1 John 2:19; "They went out of us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." You either are or you aren't; there is no other way to put it. Does that mean we don't have issues of sin in our lives? No, not in the least; we are still walking around in the flesh; but we have the ability within us to now walk in the Spirit! Big difference has been made, if we can learn to take advantage of what we have been given. There is something significant about what took place in Egypt, the night of Passover; the firstborn that was killed represented that fleshly life that we must walk away from. Why do you think the children of Israel were all dressed and ready to leave? They had their sandals on, and their staff in hand, and they were ready to depart; even though they knew they could not go anywhere outside of their own door...

"And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn the the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you a token upon your houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt." (Exodus 12:11-13)

"Spiritual Application"

"He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightenings for the rain; he bringeth the wind out of his treasuries." (Psalms 135:7)

  As hard as it is to talk about, God has a way of making us have peace, regardless of any situation. If that is what you have seen in your own life, then you know what it is that I am talking about. We are not capable of producing peace; just like we cannot calm the seas or change the direction of the wind, peace is something that comes over us; it is not something that we bring up out of us. Listening to a teaching yesterday morning, I was a little taken back by what I heard; much like what I shared on the other day, there is something we must be aware of when it comes to the work of the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit will always magnify and solidify the work of Jesus Christ! In other words, He is not the main Character in the Holy Trinity; unlike some will try to make Him out to be, because the Three are One: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all work together as ONE! The verse we are looking at today is the illustration of the working of the Holy Spirit; if there can actually be any way for the Spirit to be illustrated. Both the Father and the Son have very significant characters, but the Holy Spirit is much like a vapor, or lightening, or the wind; we do not know from where He came or to where He is gone, but we know when He shows up! Talk about something you cannot put your finger on: He is unlimited in power, but cannot be contained; He has the ability to change us, but He himself never changes! Talk about something that can make you take notice, that is exactly what He does: He illuminates Christ Jesus, and brings everything into focus...

"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."" (John 3:5-8)

"His Discretion"

"Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all the deep places." (Psalms 135:6)

  When it comes to serving God, there are certain things that we must realize when it comes to asking for Him to do something, whatever it is, whether spiritual, physical, or financial; sometimes not being answered means, 'No!' We just moved into the burned up section of town, just before Easter. I had had enough of living on the mountain and being worried about fires; so I asked the people that are in control of the Trust to allow us to move to a place that is safer and easier to get out of, in case there was a fire. This last year's fires really opened my eyes up to the power of wildfires; let alone to the craziness of the panic in people trying to escape them. Not only did I ask for the chance to move, but I requested that we purchase a new home, move out of that home, prepare it for market, and list it when it was ready. The Bank that ran the financial side of the Trust said nothing! The people that ran the expense side, those that approved what the Bank will spend money on, were more than agreeable to the move; in fact, my main contact there had left several messages with the Trustee at the Bank, and had not heard anything. I was beginning to feel as though I was asking for too much and they were just ignoring me. It turned out, the Bank was turning hard assets into liquid assets, and just need a little time to get things done. Sometimes, no answer just means wait! Be patient and wait upon the LORD, because He knows best what is best for everyone, not just you and me. Just the right moment, in the right place, and with the right people; it is all at His discretion; as it should be, because He knows how everything is going to turn out. Don't think I didn't pray first, because I most surely did! I actually prayed over a particular house that I inspected, just before it was going to be listed. It was going on the market for $600K, but I figured we could get it for $575K, so that is the figure I gave the Trust. Long story short, it sold before we heard anything from the Trust, and the Agent I was working with was very discouraged, because both her and her client wanted to see us get the house. I told her not to worry, because if God wants us to move, He has something better waiting for us. Sure enough! The Bank Officer called my Agent and said, "We have $575K for the Norrup's to buy that house," my Agent replied, "That house is gone!" The Bank Officer said, "Okay, We have $575K for a house." That was a Monday, and on Tuesday this new house was revealed to us. Absolutely perfect; the only thing we needed to do was a few minor alterations and it was ready to move into. This is how God works! He opens doors and He shuts them; but whenever it is His doing, the real doing part will get done...

"And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!"" (Matthew 8:26-27)

"Real Protection"

"For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods." (Psalms 135:5)

  For those that like to take chances, chance is not part of this discussion; not when it comes to putting our faith in the LORD! There was some very good points made yesterday as Pastor Bryan was breaking down 1 Thessalonians 2:13; the most of which was Paul's description of what God's Word does in the heart of the Believer. The thing I remember most about the weeks and months after I got saved, was the peace and joy I had in my life; it was as if all fear had been removed, the only thing that mattered was the hope I found in Jesus Christ. One of the things that was spoken of, was the fact that no one can take that which we have received and consumed away. It is absolutely true, that we have something that cannot be challenged, because we know what we have is the truth. This is the proof, in that the Spirit of God lives in us confirming all that we hear, with, "Yes and Amen." You know, bank tellers are trained to detect counterfeit bills, by knowing what the real bills are like and studying them. It is pretty much the same with our training to understand and know what is truth and in line with God's Word, it is by studying God's Word and knowing what He is like. The basic lesson to be learned is that He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever; in other words, He does not change! So, if someone wants to try and persuade you otherwise, you already know the truth: not only is it written in His word, it is branded upon our hearts; and if that does not do it for you, we have the Holy Spirit living in us to confirm it is so. Does that mean we cannot be led astray? I wish that it did, because there are many who are; and it's only going to get worse, the closer we get to His return. One thing you can take away from that closing Scripture from yesterday, besides the fact that God is in control, is the point made about how those that build idols are planning; in other words, they don't just throw something at you and expect it to stick; they work it into something that can be bought and can even stand on its own. We must be diligent and observant; but most of all, we must know what the Bible says, and believe it as truth. Did God actually make the heavens and the earth in six days? What does the Bible say? Because whatever it says is the Truth! Why debate something that is not up for debate! God said it, I believe it, and that settles it...

"Haven't you heard? Don't you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God -the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant? God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent with them. He judges the great people of the world and brings them to nothing. They hardly get started, barely taking root, and he blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff. "To whom shall you compare me? Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One. Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. O Jacob, how can you say the LORD does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless." (Isaiah 40:21-29) NLT

"Signification"

"For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure." (Psalms 135:4)

  Not to change the subject, but I think we really need to start praying for the churches in this country! What we have before us today is something we should all embrace and hold dear to our hearts; especially in times when we might be felling a little unworthy. Let's pretend for a moment we are talking about just one person, Jacob; who is also known as Israel, as so named by God. If you are someone that pays attention to little details, after God named Jacob, Israel, He still sometimes referred back to him as Jacob. Some might associate that to the actions that he did: If he obeyed God he was called Israel; if he did not obey, he was called Jacob. That is quite an assumption! You do know what the word, "Assume," actually means, don't you? This is about a man that went from running his own life, to a man that was governed by God. But, that said, the man who ran his own life, was chosen by God, long before he became the man governed by God; a long time before! I don't know how you feel about this, because the matter is not really settled within the discussion among church leaders: but, God did not just start governing Jacob's life after He named him Israel. If I look back on my own life, I can see God's hand of protection was on it; along with a little direction, now and again; maybe a lot of direction, especially when I needed to be directed. I shared this before: but when I got saved, I had no respect for church; as a matter of fact, I felt that organized religion was something that just used people and tried to control them to suit their particular needs or desires. So I did my very best to stay away from churches; and as it so happened, the place that I had been sent to had a little white church right in the middle of the main compound. I have always been able to care for myself, and a few others too; so it was only natural that I had a store. Most people would get money from their visitors; I would give Marianne money when she came to visit! (Back in the early Eighties, inmates were allowed to have money; and cigarettes.) Well, as things would have it, there were a couple of guys that did not like the fact that I had too much money, so they tried to rob me of my Bible. I guess they thought that because I always carried that Bible, that is where I kept my cash; but it was not, it was just something that I held onto and loved to read. Anywho, I was sent to another facility, because someone told on those two guys; not me, I could care less, because they only got $10.00 from me; which was kind of stupid to begin with, because I just gave Marianne $100.00 at the visiting area. The new place where I was sent did not have a church; the services there were held in a cafeteria or a classroom. Talk about being blindsided; God knew exactly what He was doing...

""Who has stirred up this king from the east, rightly calling him to God's service? Who gives this man victory over many nations and permits him to trample their kings underfoot? With his sword, he reduces armies to dust. With his bow, he scatters them like chaff before the wind. He chases them away and goes on safely, though he is walking over unfamiliar ground. Who has done such mighty deeds, summoning each new generation from the beginning of time? It is I, the LORD, the First and the Last. I alone am he." The lands beyond the sea watch in fear. Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war. The idol makers encourage one another, saying to each other, "Be strong!" The carver encourages the goldsmith, and the molder helps at the anvil. "Good," they say. "It's coming along fine." Carefully they join the parts together, then they fasten the thing in place so it won't fall over. "But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from Abraham my friend, I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, 'You are my servant.' For I have chosen you and will not throw you away."" (Isaiah 41:2-9) NLT